Birthday with the Beasties!
by G'reth the Air Dragon
Summary: It's a certain someone's birthday today and the Maximals are excited! How will the party go? And will we find out more about the birthday person's past? some minor/major spoilers for ACTwtBW story, but still good read Fluff ?/OC


**Hey guys! Boy, it's been a while since I've updated anything, huh? Anyway, this little story is written for a very special day: my BIRFFDAY! 8D I'm now the big 20, baby! XD**

**Anyway, this story takes place in my A Camping Trip with the Beast Warriors story. The setting: after Ravage gets defeated and after the other Maximals from the IDW comic "The Gathering" arrive. There are some MAJOR spoilers here, so just enjoy it until I can actually get the story back on its feet.**

**Oh, and there's a _tiny_ bit of fluff here. Can you guess between who? *sly grin***

**Disclaimer: G'reth the Air Dragon does not own Transformers or Beast Wars.**

**Me: Enjoy!**

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"A little to the left…up a bit…right…_too far!_"

"Kid, make up ya mind, will ya?" Rattrap grumbled as he held the banner up, an irritated Dinobot glaring at the floor as he tried to ignore the rat sitting on his shoulders. "We've been workin' on dis ding for ten cycles already!"

"But it has to be perfect!" the cat-bot told the smaller Maximal, his optics appearing to be desperate. "It's a special day today, you know that!"

Rattrap grumbled under his breath and reluctantly continued to adjust the banner, words written in bold red lettering with the Maximal symbol on both ends. Sitting at the table/console, Silverbolt was stretching a small thing of rubber, making sure that it was elastic enough before putting the opening of it to his lips and blowing into it. Almost instantly it expanded, becoming transparent as the Maximal symbol bloomed on the surface. Once it was blown up enough, he pinched a part of the rubber that wasn't expanded and began tying a knot in it. Smiling, he set it to the side and started on the next one.

Sitting right next to him, Blackarachnia was busy curling strands of ribbon over her claws, leaving them springy as a…well, '_spring_'. Most of the colors were red, gold, blue, and white, but there was the occasional purple in there among others. Some were cut into long strips to be curled, others were cut into tiny strips of squares, and others were tied together into little flower-bows. One even suspiciously looked like the Autobot Matrix of Leadership.

Optimus walked in with a large box wrapped up in colorful paper with Cybertronian symbols decorating the blue surface, an orange ribbon tied into a bow at the very top as he set it down in an empty chair. Turning to the three working on the banner, he asked, "How's it going?"

"It's goin' _peachy_, boss-monkey," Rattrap replied sarcastically, griping when Dinobot accidentally bent too far back and nearly knocked him off. "Spots here is havin' trouble decidin' where da banner's s'pose t' go."

"Perfect!" Cheetor suddenly yelped, which in turn caused both Rattrap and Dinobot to fall over in shock. Surprisingly, the banner managed to get pinned right where Rattrap had it earlier and stayed there. Unfortunately, the transmetal rat had somehow managed to roll into a pile of streamers and got tangled up in them, looking very much like a mummy…if it was ever wrapped up in _pink_ streamers.

"Don't. Say. _Anythin'_," he grumbled at Silverbolt and Blackarachnia, who were the closest to him as they stared at him in either amusement or confusion.

Optimus, hiding a smirk at the rat's predicament, turned to the second youngest of the team and said, "Rhinox is working on the surprise you wanted and Airazor and Tigatron are busy putting on the finishing touches. Anything else?"

Cheetor thought hard for a moment, trying to think about what could be missing. Then… "Piñata!" he said, drawing blank looks from everyone else. Seeing this, he explained it to them and Dinobot all of a sudden had an evil grin on his face-plates.

"Where are you going, Dinobot?" Optimus asked the former Predacon as he stalked over to the elevator.

"You'll see," came the snarling reply as the raptor descended to the ground.

The other Maximals stared at one another before they shrugged. "I wonder how Depth Charge is doing with Lauren?" Cheetor wondered aloud. "I should've been the one to take her outside…but I want this to be perfect for her."

The larger Maximal smiled down at him and patted his shoulder reassuringly, saying, "I'm sure that she won't want much…just your friendship is enough for her."

"I know…but it's not everyday that one celebrates—"

"Creation day," Depth Charge grumbled to himself as he watched the girl dance around in a field of flowers, a roaring waterfall crashing down into a small lake nearby. Why had he agreed to this again? To watch over the small human that they had brought into the past while the others prepared something back at the base?

'_Because I don't want to put up with all that sappy stuff,_' he thought to himself as the girl rolled around, laughing happily. '_Why does everyone even bother celebrating the day of their creation? It's a waste of time…_'

Of course, there was a part of him that knew that wasn't true. Back on Omicron, before X had gone on a rampage, he remembered the times when he'd get excited over the thought of celebrating the creation days of his loved ones…how he'd occasionally panic when he couldn't figure out what to get someone…the joy that he felt whenever he saw the sparkling eyes of the little one when they saw the toy he got them.

Shaking his head, he turned back to watching the girl…and blinked. "What the slag…?" he muttered to himself as he stared at the scene before him.

The girl was running. This wasn't unusual since she'd been running around all day, but at the same time it seemed like she was…_chasing_ something. She'd turn this way and that, as if running after something that was trying to avoid her. She made a few grabs at the empty air and cursed when she '_missed_' her target. He could faintly hear her shouting as she said, "Optimus! Gimme back my necklace you silly monkey!"

……what?

'_Optimus is back at the base,_' Depth Charge thought to himself as the girl continued to chase after…whatever it was she was chasing. '_How could she be chasing Optimus if he's not here?_'

He didn't get an answer as the girl seemingly tackled something, crashing to the ground and reaching for something. Then, with a triumphant yell, she pulled her hand away…to reveal a tigers-eye necklace that appeared out of nowhere. The manta watched with wide eyes as she placed the necklace around her neck. "That ought ta teach ya," she told the ground below her triumphantly, as if she was actually talking to someone there. Then, as if following something, she looked up and smiled.

Unknown to the utterly confused hunter, the girl was actually talking to another Maximal, known as Optimus Minor. His beast mode resembled a spider monkey, which is what mode he was currently in as he sat back on his haunches and grinned back at the girl. "Good chase, kid," he said in approval. "I didn't think you'd actually be able to catch me that time."

"I know," Lauren replied with a pleased grin. "Usually I end up crashing into one of the others or something."

Optimus Minor laughed at that as he transformed into his Transmetal II bipedal form. "Yeah. I still don't think B'Boom's gonna forget what happened last time…especially since you knocked him into the lake by accident!"

Now it was her turn to laugh at the memory. When she calmed down, she had an excited grin on her face as she said, "Guess what, Optimus? Today's my birthday!"

Blinking in confusion, Optimus Minor repeated, "'_Birthday?_' What's that?"

"It's basically a celebration of the day I was born," Lauren explained to the confused primate. "I grow a year older and get closer to becoming an adult."

"Ah, you mean your '_Creation Day_'," Optimus Minor smiled, now starting to understand. "So, how old are you gonna be?"

"Thirteen," the girl proclaimed proudly as she puffed out her chest.

"Three more years from the '_Big Sixteen_' I gather?" a new voice spoke up, drawing their attention towards the waterfall that concealed a cave. It was Razorbeast.

"Hey, Razor!" Lauren waved cheerfully as the boar joined the two. "Yep. How didja know?"

Transforming into his bipedal form, Razorbeast ruffled her hair affectionately and said, "What do you think? We Cybertronians go through the same stages of life…only, a much longer lifespan. Sixteen in human years is sixteen thousand to a Cybertronian."

"Cool!" Lauren said as her eyes widened in surprise.

Optimus Minor laughed at that and said, "You're too easily amazed, ya know that?"

All he got for a response was her sticking her tongue out at him. Then, she squealed as he tackled her and began the tickle torture, laughing happily as she tried to fend off his attack. Razorbeast merely smiled and watched, his optics staring at something only he could see. '_If only she knew…if only_ he _knew,_' he thought to himself before turning his attention to the large manta ray that was currently making his way over.

Stopping near the girl, Depth Charge crossed his arms in front of him and waited for the girl to calm down from her…laughing spell. When she managed to calm down, she looked up at him curiously and asked, "Yes?"

"It's time to head back, kid," he grunted, his ruby optics boring into her gold-yellow eyes. "Primal just called a click ago."

"Aw man!" she whined sadly as she looked up at her invisible—_to the manta, anyway_—friends. They nodded in understanding and watched as she climbed onto the hunter's back in his beast mode. As he flew off, Optimus Minor turned to Razorbeast and asked, "So, should we do something for her?"

Razorbeast nodded, putting a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "I think I know the gift to give her," he said slowly before he went back to the cave, leaving Optimus Minor in confusion.

Back at the base, the other Maximals were finishing up the last of the decorations before stepping back to admire their work. "Nicely done, everyone," Optimus praised the others as he examined the control room. "And that's a nice touch with the Piñata, Dinobot."

The raptor merely smirked as he said, "I thought that she might enjoy this particular one. Although it wasn't easy to get it."

"I gotta admit, we did pretty good," Rattrap grinned cheekily. "Da kid's gonna love it!"

"I hope so," Cheetor said nervously as he fiddled nervously with the present in his hands. "I want her to be happy…"

"And who is to say that she isn't happy?" Silverbolt asked curiously, yet in a way that suggested that he knew more than he let on.

Cheetor didn't say anything. He only watched the elevator nervously, waiting for the manta ray to come in with the young girl. A slight blush formed on his cheeks, but no one really saw it…except for Silverbolt and Optimus, but both remained silent.

Suddenly, the ceiling opened up, allowing Depth Charge to fly through before he landed. Lauren wasn't with him. "She'll be up in a moment," the large Manta told them as he moved over to a corner and leaned against the wall.

Sure enough, they could hear the sound of the elevator ascending into the ship. Reacting quickly, the Maximals started to hide (_along with Depth Charge, who was jerked under the table by Silverbolt and Blackarachnia_), Optimus ordering Sentinel to shut the lights off before all went silent.

Once the elevator stopped, they could hear small footsteps quietly walking into the room. "What is going on here?" Lauren mumbled to herself as she tried to look around, her eyes giving off a faint glow in the blackness. "Did the lights go out again? Sheesh…Sentinel, power on back-up lights."

As the room was flooded with light, the Maximals sprung up from their hiding spots and shouted in unison, "SURPRISE!!! _Happy Birthday, Lauren!_"

"Holy _SLAG!!!_" she yelped before she started laughing. "You guys! This is what you've been up to all day?"

"Sure is," Rattrap nodded as he jerked a thumb over in Cheetor's direction. "Lov'a boy here wanted ta make dis da best day e—_mph?!_"

"What he _meant_ to say," Silverbolt said as he held the rat off the ground, one of his hands covering the rodent's mouth as he struggled to get out of the headlock, "is that we wanted to make this a very special day for you. One doesn't celebrate the day of their creation often, you know?"

A little surprised at the silver warrior's sudden action with Rattrap, Lauren nodded in understanding. Then, she looked over their heads and smiled. The banner that Dinobot and Rattrap had put up…it said "_Happy Creation Day, Lauren!_" with the Maximal insignia on either end. She also noted all the balloons with the Maximal insignia on them scattered about the room, streamers dangling over every possible surface without looking like a giant mess. Then…

"Is that a cake?" she asked in surprise as she stared at the object that Airazor was holding. "I didn't think you guys knew how to bake them."

Tigatron smiled at her as he moved over to stand next to Airazor. "You'd be surprised as to what we actually know," he told her gently as the falcon showed the cake's surface.

The cake was mostly white with gold trimmings on the top and bottom, blue flowers decorating the surface while the Maximal and Autobot insignia grinned happily up at the birthday girl.

"Wow, you guys were busy, huh?" Lauren smiled as she stared at the Cybertronian-sized cake. Spotting something else out of the corner of her eye, she stared at it for the longest time before she finally asked, "Why is Tarantulas tied to the ceiling and covered in feathers?"

Indeed the mad scientist was dangling from the ceiling, his mouth gagged by what looked like an orange cone painted to look like a beak, feathers of various colors glued to his hide until he actually looked like a bird. This scene reminded her of the one that happened in "_The Emperor's New Groove_" when the evil lady looked like a swan…before being beaten by a group of children.

"Dinobot's idea," Optimus said as he pointed out the raptor, who smirked at the girl as he whacked a metal pole against the palm of his hand. Tarantulas whimpered at the thought of what might happen to him.

Rattrap, who finally managed to get out of the fuzor's grip, rolled his optics and said, "Yeah, yeah. Enough chit-chattin', let's get dis party started!"

That was all that was needed as Depth Charge tapped a key on the computer with his tail, a cheerful and upbeat song beginning to play on the speakers. Eyes wide in surprise, she turned to Cheetor and asked, "'_Waka Laka?_'"

Cheetor only shrugged sheepishly as he held out his present to her. "Happy birthday, Lauren," he said, a barely visible blush forming on his cheeks.

Lauren accepted the gift from him, half-listening to the music as it blared out, "_See Waka Laka when you need a flight of fantasy (fantasy)…Ecstasy (ecstasy)…Rhapsody (rhapsody). See Waka Laka when you want a love so tenderness (tenderness). Waka Laka make you fly!_" Carefully opening the package, she gasped quietly before she held up the once concealed object.

It was a book. But not just any book, she discovered when she opened it. Inside, there were pictures of the time that they had spent at the camp back in Colorado, when everyone had been disguised as humans. Some of the pictures contained memorable scenes, such as the first day they went mountain climbing with Rattrap, previously known as '_Danny_', comically trying to stay on the side of the mountain with his hands while his feet scrambled in an almost cartoony fashion and his eyes practically bugging out. Blackarachnia, previously known as '_Alexis_', was laughing at him as she hung onto a niche with one hand while the other was on her hip. Silverbolt, known as '_Garen_', was struggling to pull the rat up by his shirt while the rest either laughed or tried to climb up the rest of the way, which is what Lauren and Cheetor, known as Chris in the photo, were trying to do.

The more she looked through them, the more she saw of their days back at camp. There was somehow even one of the time she tried to prank him with a water balloon, but ended up splashing both of them in the process. Most of them, she noticed, were of her and Chris. "You did this?" she asked him quietly, absorbed in the carefully decorated pages of the scrapbook.

"Yeah," Cheetor replied shyly as he looked to the side, the blush on his face deepening slightly. "I thought that it'd be something nice for you to take home…so you won't forget us."

She was silent for a while, as if thinking about his words. Then, she motioned for him to lean down. Once he was at her level…she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Optics wide in surprise, he sat frozen for a moment, trying to process what just happened. Finally, he asked, "Um…Lauren…what're you doing?"

"Hugging you," she replied simply before she pulled away, arms still wrapped around his neck. "I could never forget you guys…especially not after all we've been through."

Then…she kissed the tip of his nose, causing the blush to spread to his entire face as he stared in shock. "And I especially wouldn't be able to forget you, Cheetor," she told the stunned cat-bot with a smile before she winked and moved over to stand next to a cackling Rattrap and sniggering Dinobot.

Cheetor just sat there for the longest time, his processor going into overdrive as he tried to figure out what had just happened. Then, lightly touching the tip of his nose, he gave an uncertain smile, which slowly grew into one of joy. Grinning broadly, he turned to the small group that was now dancing and went to join them…and his crush.

A long while later, after all the presents had been opened and the cake eaten, the Maximals and their human friend cleaned up the room (which had little strips of paper on the floor it due to Rhinox's invention, which was really two hollow balls filled with confetti, being popped open with a string and showering the occupants with bits of colorful pieces). When everything was done, it was already dark out and they decided to turn in for the night.

Curled up in the bundles of fur that made up her bed, Lauren rested peacefully with a smile on her face, her right hand laying on the scrapbook she had been looking through. Just as she was about to fall asleep, however, she felt a light touch on her shoulder. Opening her eyes, she looked up and smiled tiredly at her guest. "Oh, hey Razor," she greeted the boar.

"Hey, kiddo," Razorbeast returned with a nod, a smile hidden beneath his face-guard. "Happy Birthday."

Lauren looked down at his hand as he held something out to her, curious eyes staring at the wrapping paper the Maximal agent had somehow managed to acquire. The wrapping paper itself was blue, but there was an image of a proud white lion on the front, roaring at a creature that she didn't recognize. Carefully taking the small parcel, she began to unwrap it slowly, as if afraid of breaking it. Then, she gasped as a soft glow brightened her face.

Inside the paper was a necklace, the stone almost the size of her index and middle finger combined in size and length. The stone itself was a pale blue, which seemed to glow brighter when she touched it and pulse like a heartbeat. Eyes wide, she looked up at Razorbeast and asked, "What is it?"

"That is a very special container," the rust-brown Maximal told her as he gently picked it up by the chain and held it in front of her. "It's a container…for a spark."

"Wha-?" Lauren gasped in confusion.

"These are very rare items on Cybertron," Razorbeast continued as he placed his hand under the stone gently. "It's meant to be given to loved ones, so that they may keep them close even if they're galaxies away from each other. By placing a small part of your spark inside it, it's almost as if you're with that person."

"Is that…your spark?"

Razorbeast shook his head as he carefully put it over her head. "No, youngling, it's not my spark that inhabits this crystal," he said gently. "Rather…it's that of your father's."

Lauren's head snapped up to him in shock, even as the crystal began to glow brighter and strangely pulsed with her own heartbeat. "My…father?" she repeated slowly, disbelief written clear as day on her face. "Wh-What do you know about him?"

"He's my friend and an old comrade," he said softly, his eyes dimming as he stared at memories only he could see. "He was on Cybertron at the time the Axalon…and your mother…came to Earth. He doesn't know what happened to either one of you yet…"

"Can you…tell me more about him?" she asked quietly as she gently touched the stone. "About who he is?"

"…he was a brave and powerful warrior. He's kind and cares about those who work under his command…and his family. You'll never find another like him."

"What's his name?"

Smiling, Razorbeast shook his head and placed a hand on her shoulder. "That, I'm afraid, I can't tell you," he said slowly. "All I can tell you is that one day you'll meet him…maybe even sooner than you expect."

With that, he silently left the room, leaving a confused human to stare after his back. Then, she looked down at the necklace with a thoughtful expression, her lips drawn out into a thin line. Slowly, she held the necklace in both hands and laid down, enjoying the warmth that the stone gave off as she held it close to her heart. Quietly, she whispered something to it and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Back on Cybertron, a figure with gold optics blinked in confusion, his hand moving unconsciously to his chest where his spark chamber was. A Maximal that looked like he'd have a giraffe as a beast mode turned to him and asked, "Is something wrong, Convoy?"

Shaking his head, the leader looked at the soldier and said, "It's nothing, Longrack. I just had a strange feeling, that's all."

As the Maximal turned back to his duties, the golden-eyed Maximal turned his attention back to his spark chamber before looking out the port that made up the ship they were about to launch off in. The words seemed to echo not only though his mind, but through his spark as well.

'_Where are you, father?_'

His response, though uncertain, was strong as he sent back his own thoughts.

'_I'm here…my daughter_.'

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**There ya go! Hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a nice little review and tell me what you think (it might also motivate me even more to finish the ACTwtBW story). =3**


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